Fabrice Uhryn appointed executive chef at Alain Roux's three Michelin-Starred The Waterside Inn
Craig Johnston wins 2025 Roux Scholarship
+1 
‘Changed my life’ – Former winners’ advice on entering Roux Scholarship
From Rzeszow to Roux Scholar: Karol Ploch’s Culinary Journey
Craig Johnston added his name to an illustrious list after being crowned the winner of the 2025 Roux Scholarship.
Craig won MasterChef: The Professionals in 2017 and was last year appointed head chef of Michelin-starred Angler.
He saw off competition from fellow finalists Liam Anderson (Midsummer House), Katherine Altham (Hélène Darroze at The Connaught), Erin Jackson Yates (Bar Valette), Oliver Robinson (Coworth Park) and Nikoletta Theofylaktidou (Restaurant Associates).
The Roux Scholarship is a prestigious cooking competition for UK-resident chefs aged 22-29 and offers a life-changing opportunity for young chefs to showcase their culinary skills and creativity.
The six finalists competed for the title at the Alain Roux Culinary School at The Waterside Inn on Monday, April 14.
On the judging panel during the competition were Michel Roux Jr, Sat Bains, Simon Hulstone, Rachel Humphrey, Alain Roux, Brian Turner, Emily Roux, Angela Hartnett, André Garrett and Adam Smith.
In the final, chefs were asked to prepare their own dish inspired by the cuisine of Honorary President of Judges Elena Arzak, based around Wyndford Wagyu shank with bone marrow, borlotti beans and Basque-style stuffed potatoes.
Craig grew up in Maidenhead and was the youngest MasterChef winner, aged just 22. He is the first person to win both MasterChef and the Roux Scholarship.
He went on to become the only contestant to be employed by the show’s judge Marcus Wareing, who hired Craig initially as a senior chef de partie at The Berkeley.
He worked his way up to run the Michelin-starred kitchen and was the final head chef at the restaurant, before it closed in December 2023.
Craig also previously worked at The Royal Oak and Jason Atherton’s Pollen Street Social.
Following the closure of The Berkeley, Craig joined Angler located atop five-star South Place Hotel near Liverpool Street Station, the only Michelin-starred seafood restaurant in London.
He joined to lead the kitchen team, alongside consultant executive chef Gary Foulkes.
Craig becomes the 41st Roux Scholar, since the first inception in 1984.
Former winners include Andrew Fairlie, Steve Love, Steve Drake, Mark Birchall, Tom Barnes, Spencer Metzger, April Lily Partridge and Karol Ploch.
Chef Elena Arzak said: “The competition is famous, serious and very important. All the finalists expressed their individual, personal identities in the dishes they cooked. That’s the future of gastronomy; the young chefs have new ideas and no limits to their creativity.
"There was a clear winner for me and all the judges agreed on that, I was very happy to be asked to be a judge this year. In 1989, aged 19, I worked at Le Gavroche and the Roux family were very kind and are a very special part of my history. The Roux legacy is in my heart.”
Alain Roux said: “It’s been a very good day. Nobody made any big mistakes despite the pressure. Every year, we expect higher and higher standards, and these six chefs all deserved their place in the final. The judges discussed for a while, but we all agreed there was a clear winner.”
Michel Roux Jr said: “It was a good test and, when the theme of the task was unveiled, we saw a few of them scratching their heads and looking at reference books to understand their challenge. Pressure cookers are being used more and more again, so it was a good part of the test.
"Braising the beef shin in time needed a pressure cooker but no-one was late, in fact it’s probably the best year we’ve had for punctuality in serving their dishes. There were some great flavours in every plate.”
In these challenging times…
The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.
Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.
A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.
Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.
Support Us
CONTRIBUTE
Craig Johnston wins 2025 Roux Scholarship
Fabrice Uhryn appointed executive chef at Alain Roux's three Michelin-Starred The Waterside Inn
‘Changed my life’ – Former winners’ advice on entering Roux Scholarship
From Rzeszow to Roux Scholar: Karol Ploch’s Culinary Journey
There are no comments yet.
You could be commenting on this if you had an account! Click here to sign up.